The theme of this week is pretty similar to last week in that it's been fairly quiet.

This morning though was a highlight with the first Common Tern chicks appearing on the island ourside the visitors centre.

The pools were productive wader wise earlier in the week with 2 Greenshank and 2 Knot (one very much is Summer plumage) appearing briefly.

A Blackcap/Garden Warbler was heard on the reserve and it will probably…

Back in action again after a week away in Poland things have quietened down slightly here.

With the Yellowlegs now hopefully on its way back to a normal life there is a return to more traditional species the reserve.

1 Little Ringed Plover was here at the beginning of the week and summer plaged Ruff (which I haven't seen yet!) have also been around.

The Cuckoo that was here on Sunday hasn't been heard of since. An…

Today's blog courtesy of volunteer Cain....

Last night I headed down to Fen Hide to see what was about. Almost a year ago I made my first visit to Fen Hide, the start of a two-week residential. I remember my first night clearly, the sun was setting, beautiful reds and oranges filled the sky, slowly walking on the boardwalk I took in the sites and sounds of the boggy woodland, a Buzzard flew over head, and Sedge…

This summer we're starting a series of events that will show visitors a glimpse of what goes on in the areas of the reserve that aren't usually open to the public, and what moves around the reserve at night when nobody's around.

There will be a series of guided walks and wildlife events, but we're starting off by showing visitors some of the hidden camera footage we've been filming around the reserve over the…

Apologies for the lack of blog posts from Strathbeg recently. With seabird season getting into full swing, we’ve been spending most of our time at either Troup Head or Fowlsheugh- counting seabirds, filming Gannets and recording for BBC radio.

You can read more about what we’ve been doing at our seabird reserves by visiting their blogs or by checking our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RSPBNorthEastSco…

We've had a week of superb weather here at Loch of Strathbeg. The wardens and volunteers have enthusiastically jumped on the chance to shovel about a ton of hardcore onto the access track, which will make the approach to the reserve a bit less bumpy for a while at least. We've also been focussing on work at the other reserves this week as seabird counts at Fowlsheugh and Troup Head start getting into full swing…

Today's blog written by Ben our residential volunteer-

After a rather cold wet spring, it seems that summer has finally decided to show itself. The bad weather over the past few weeks has meant it has been difficult to keep up with all the survey work on the reserve. So I took advantage of a bright sunny Monday afternoon to catch up with ringed plover surveys.

The survey basically involved a walk along one of the…

Well, well, well, just look at the things are coming back to us!

The Greater Yellowlegs has returned and we're all very happy to see it back on the Low Ground.

2 Cranes have been seen intermitantly throughout the week but the Wood Sandpipers have been less visible.

Also gracing us with their presence are a couple of Avocet. These birds do seem to be ones that you just need to be in the right place at the right…

Ever since the Greater Yellowlegs abandoned us for a stay on the River Ythan, the low ground has been looking a bit strange and empty without it. However, early this afternoon Vicky caught sight of a pale wader with yellow legs wandering down one of the ditches on the low ground. A long search from Tower Pool Hide didn't manage to refind it but when we got back to the centre we had a quick look from the windows and the…

Now, in the spirit of a day of final minute twists we had a similar experience here.

During the day there had been discussions through the day about whether we were watching a Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover or something else.

When I went to lock up the centre I was lucky enough to 2 Plover sp and one of them was an absolute definate Little Ringed Plover! What was fortunate was the mystery bird was with the Little…

Well, the week isn't over yet and still there is a chance of something else turning up.

First headline was the 2 Shore Larks that me, Diana, Ed and Robert found in the Lagoon on Monday. A new bird for all of us and one of those things that you just don't expect to see out of the truck window.

They were such special birds to us it's worth using Diana's photo again!

2 Avocets also and we actually have…

The weather up here at Strathbeg over the past few days has been, to say the least, mixed! We've gone from sun and showers to very strong wind, none of which have arrived at time that's matched the forecast. It's been a particular nuisance for the wardens and volunteers who have been constantly arranging and re-arranging their spring bird surveys (most of which can't be done in bad weather) to try and take…

Two new birds on the year list over the past few days, one a bit of an old nemesis, one a total surprise!

The first was the regular Great Grey Shrike which has been reported on and off from the airfield for well over a week. We got a report on Sunday evening to say that it was in an area of the airfield we were sure we could see from the reserve (the rule for the reserve list!). I headed down to the airfield in my car…

So, at the end of week of comings and goings we are asking ourselves have we seen the Greater Yellowlegs on the reserve for the last time?

It has been here all week but this morning it was seen on the banks of the River Ythan and one does have to ask that seeing that there is already a King Eider down there, what more do they want?

Hopefully it will return and given that there was a week between its first spotting…

A few nice birds have been added to the year list over the past couple of days, as the strong winds and odd heavy showers have brough a few migrating birds down to the reserve. Our first Swift was hunting insects over the loch early this week and a Little Gull has been regular from Tower Pool hide. The absolute highlight of the week was the brief arrival of three Glossy Ibis on the reserve. Glossy Ibis look like a large…

This weekend we've been taking advantage of the warm sunny weather to get out into the wetter parts of the reserve and see what's around.

Yesterday Richard and myself had a long, slightly soggy walk through the marsh, in preparation for a series of events later in the summer that we'll tell you all about very soon... The highlight of the walk was a big female Osprey fishing almost directly overhead as we walked…

It's been a slightly unusual week for some of us, on and off the reserve. On Monday myself, Ben and Ed headed into the Cairngorms for some off-road driving training. We had a brilliant couple of days- the heavy rain for much of it made the course even more slippery and mud-covered than usual but we're certainly prepared for any conditions and any hills we might meet at Strathbeg! You can see some photos and video of our…

Marsh Harrier have made a return to Strathbeg with an adult female arriving yesterday and was first seen by a couple who had driven up here from Wales in 1 day! The Harrier was seen again this morning but that was about it as the weather perhaps meant that it was not flying again today. It was viewable from the centre to the right of the tower.

Also coming back, and already making an appearance on the Photo Gallery,…

Finally the mix of southerly winds and fairly persistent rain showers have started to bring some nice spring migrants on to the reserve. In weather like this most of them, especially the smaller birds, like to find shelter in the plantation between the loch and the dunes or out in the gorse on the marsh. The wader survey at the end of the week found Grasshopper Warbler and Willow Warbler on the marsh, and a visitor reported…

Quite a quiet week here but the highlight for me anyway was the drake Garganey that appeared in front of the Tower. It was here on Tuesday and worked its way along the bank close into the reeds. It was such a great moment to see it for me and, just going off topic for a moment, justified those hours of scanning bird-less areas.

The Greater Yellowlegs is still here but occasionally is being its elusive self. In other…

A big thank you to everyone who came to the Craft Fair on Saturday. We had 14 stalls selling everything from paintings to jewellery to flowers, several of the stalls holders did very well and with a combination of donations, pin badges and sales of cakes (thanks to Rosalyn at Let Them Eat Cake for donating the cupcakes) and biscuits, we raised over £150 for the RSPB.

We had a busy day on Sunday too, with a couple…

Good news! The Greater Yellowlegs has a friend! Or at least the newly arrived Greenshank was hanging around with it yesterday afternoon when it arrived. This does mean though that finding the Yellowlegs may take a bit more time than previously.

The Greenshank arrived after the Craft Fair had finished but during the day, 3 Cranes drifted onto the reserve and were nicely viewable from the Visitors Centre. Only record shots…

All hands on deck today as we cleaned out the Big Shed to make room for our first ever Spring Craft Fair tomorrow. The local association of Buchan Crafters are bringing 14 stalls, from jam making to wood-carving and we've been donated a few trays of cupcakes by a local baker so there'll be something to keep you going throughout the day!

Stalls open at 10am, entry is free, all our stalls are undercover so you…

Despite the forecast we've had a beautiful sunny day here at Strathbeg. Emma and the volunteers have taken the opportunity to do a couple of surveys while it's not pouring with rain, I've spent much of the day raptor hunting at the south end of the loch.

Both White Tailed Eagles have been around today, mostly in the dunes just to the right of this picture. Despite being huge birds, the dune area is rough…

After an early start for a WeBS count on Friday morning we were all looking forward to a nice, relaxing Friday evening at home watching TV and catching up on some sleep. Emma and I were just about to start our tea when Emma checked her mobile to find about three missed calls from Tom, and a text message saying that not one but two White Tailed Eagles had been seen at Rattray Head.

Food, my wine and Emma's beer were swiftly…